It was a dreary day, with dark clouds overhead dumping acidic rain onto the streets of the city below. Normally a place of order, Garalory was a larger residential commercial mix located on the forest planet of Ynos. Lately though, the town had been struck by a series of crimes that were not particularly violent, yet terrifying in the precision and speed of which they were pulled off. The town’s populace was beginning to think their police force as useless in stopping the crimes, and they would soon become a town ruled by gangsters and criminals.

The lit end up of a cigarette could be seen, glowing in the darkness under the overhang of a small bank. A man with curly dark hair was peering down at a rain-soaked paper, reading the headlines about the latest crime committed and how the police were nowhere near figuring out the culprits. The rain had smeared most of the words, but the larger print was still visible. Crime Spree Continues As Local Bank Is Raided. The man chuckled to himself and flicked his cigarette onto the ground, a small hiss being brought forth when the lit end touched the wet pavement. He tossed the newspaper into a trashcan near the doors of the building and pulled his collar up around his neck.

Frank Statorri was an average height human, his curly black hair and clear complexion giving off the look of someone far more innocent then himself. A career criminal who had survived massive gang wars on various other planets and come out of them without scars, he was currently working with his partner, Jason Knightly. The two were responsible for the current crime wave sweeping through Garalory, as well as an untold amount of crimes on other planets throughout the system.

He walked along the street, slowing down as he reached a high-rise apartment building and turned to walk inside. He shook the rain out of his hair as he walked into the lobby and stopped a moment to grab the mail out of the mailbox assigned to his apartment. He checked the return addresses and found them to be nothing more then junk mail and the rent for the next month. He tucked them under his arm and bound up the stairs two at a time, drawing his key out of his pocket as he did so. Stopping at room ninety-seven, he slid the key into the lock and wiggled the doorknob until he heard the click of the lock.

A loud chirp greeted him as he stepped into the three-room apartment and tossed the mail down on the table, skewing a few pencils. Jason looked up from the couch and then turned his attention back to a news report on TV detailing descriptions of the people who had been committing the crimes in Garalory.

“Look at this, Frankie. They got you all wrong here. They say you’re short with cropped blonde hair and pretty solidly built, while I’m tall and have dark curly hair and am skinnier then hell. Does that sound anything like us?” His blonde comrade joked, flipping the TV off and taking the bird off the couch next to him to return it to its cage. It nibbled affectionately on his finger before ruffling its dark blue feathers as he crammed it back into the oversized cage that took up a fair share of one corner of the room.

“I don’t think so, but even if it did, we don’t have much to worry about. Half the population would match that description. Damn, it’s wet out. I did accomplish something while I was out though.” Frank said, tossing his wet jacket onto a coat hook and going to make himself up a cup of caf. “That bank we’re planning to hit closes at five, but one of the tellers stays behind to lock up until six. Past two nights it’s been this really cute blonde, you’d like her.” Frank joked, taking a sip of the warm drink and sitting down at the table, tossing the mail onto the counter.

“From what we’ve got figured, they have alarms here, and here, right?” Frank pointed at two spots on a set of blueprints that resembled the bank he had been standing outside of earlier that evening. Jason took a seat at the table and nodded, picking up a pencil and marking three x’s along the walls of the building.

“This is where I spotted the cameras when I was in there this morning. I figure that if we get in there and set up a pair of infra-red spotlights, we’ll be able to blind all three and have our way with the safe.” Jason grinned, always seeming to get excited at the thought of using some of his own, hand made equipment. He’d been waiting to use his infrared ‘camera blinders’, as he called them, since he had built them three weeks prior. Frank laughed and shook his head, but knew that Jason’s equipment would work for this.

“I think we should also use some of those sonic charges to get into the safe.” Jason continued, prodding the blueprints with his pencil. “I got a good look at the safe door when I was in there too, and it’s one thick mother.”

“Makes sense. This is the primary branch for this banking company, there’s bound to be far more then we could imagine in there in cash. The teller showed me inside the other day when I was inquiring about an account and how they store their cash funds, and a pretty conservative estimate puts the contents at maybe fifteen million cash, as well as the safety deposit boxes and whatnot. That’s seven point five each.” Frank smiled, taking a long sip from his drink and setting the now empty cup down on the table. “My vote is for tomorrow at 5:30. We can slip in with the spotlights blazing, then I’ll subdue the teller while you get our equipment set up.”

“You get to wrestle the cute blonde into a chair and tie her up, while I play around with this junk?” Jason groaned, faking sadness as he nodded at the pile of tools and other equipment that rested in the corner of their apartment. Frank nodded and shrugged, then stood up and put his coffee cup into the sink and sat back down at the table. He stared down at the blueprints and rubbed his eyes, trying to think over the situation more clearly.

“We open the doors and you set stuff up while I run and grab the teller and tie her to a chair. Then you’re going to disable the alarms with your handy-dandy screwdriver while I cash into the back and begin setting the sonic charges to the safe. Once I’ve got those set up, we pull the teller back to a safe spot and set off the charges. Now, assuming that doesn’t set off any alarms, we’ll be free to load the bags at our leisure, up until maybe 6:30 when the teller’s family or friends might start wondering where she is. Think we can be in and out with everything in an hour?” Frank explained and asked, pointing to various sections of the blueprint as he got to each part of the plan. Jason shrugged.

“We’ve done it before, haven’t we? What’ve you got to worry about?” Jason asked, twiddling his pencil between his fingers and glancing back at the bird in the corner that was creating quite a ruckus over being put back in its cage. Frank glanced down at the blueprints again and smiled.

“You’re right, we’ve got nothing to worry about this time. This plan is flawless, nothing can go wrong.” He said with a grin, slapping his partner’s shoulder and laughing. “I’m going to go to bed early though and get up early to do a thing or two before we pull this off. See you in the morning, Jason.” Frank continued, pushing his chair away from the table and walking off to his bedroom. Jason waved and called ‘goodnight’ after his friend, then turned to look at the bird in the cage.

“If you’re going to keep complaining like that, maybe I’ll just keep your treats and et them myself.” Jason said, walking towards the birdcage and grabbing a bag full of treats, pulling out three or four of them and showing them to the bird, which stopped jabbering for a minute before starting up even louder and seeming to be mad about having its treats threatened. Jason shrugged and popped one into his mouth and chewed for a second before spitting it out into his hand. He couldn’t help but gagging and tossed the treat into the garbage, then put the others back into the bag. “Don’t know how you can stand those at all, Bird. They taste awful.”

“Sucker.” The bird wheezed, turning its head sideways until it was at a ninety-degree angle to what it was before and peering up at its owner.

“Smart ass. Never should have taught you to talk.” Jason said to the bird, shaking his head to himself and flopping back down on the couch. He turned on the TV and found a comedy holo playing, but fell asleep before the first few jokes had even been said.

OOC:

WC 1560

A short alien put away a pair of electro binoculars and picked up a video data pad. He pressed a few buttons on the screen with a long blue finger, and almost jumped when the face of a man in his mid thirties appeared on the screen. In a slightly buzzy voice, the alien explained his findings.

“They found the letter, your highness. One of the two had a bit of a nervous breakdown, but he seems to have calmed down by now. It’s my theory that they don’t have your money, sir.” The alien said, his mouth moving in a far different manner then one would think it would to pronounce the words he was saying. The face that was sitting on the screen looked emotionless for a moment before a slender hand reached up and rubbed the chin.

“It doesn’t matter to me, I’ll end up with my money whether he has it or not. Despite that he’s a thief, I do respect him in a somewhat grudging way. Make sure they don’t leave the city, keep on them like mad. If I find out that you let them escape, your head will find a spot on my wall.” Prince Xerom growled, his voice deep and full of seriousness. The alien swallowed hard and nodded before Xerom cut the feed and the data pad left him with a ‘communication ended’ screen. The alien threw the data pad across the room and picked his binocs up again.

“Fail and die, do good and be less likely to die. Never should have worked for this guy.” The alien continued as he watched the apartment window across the street from the building he was in, cursing at Xerom in his native tongue.

OOC:

WC 291

*** 3 ***

The wood of the doorframe made a snapping sound as the deadbolt was pushed through it and the door swung wildly on its hinges. Jason dashed in through the open door and blasted the cameras with his spotlight. He began single-handedly setting up the floodlights while Frank jumped the teller’s counter and ran around into the back of the bank. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the safe door was still open, and he sprinted towards it, hoping to catch the blonde teller unaware and easily subdue her and get her out of the way. He had only taken a few steps when he felt as if a boulder had slammed into his chest and he was knocked off his feet, landing hard on the duracrete floor of the building.

His vision blurred as he looked around, trying to find the source of the attack. He spotted a huge man dashing towards the safe door and slamming it closed, hitting all the different electronic locks and then turning to face Frank again. The man was a giant, with thick, bushy white hair and arms that could easily bend an E-11 blaster into a knot. Frank gulped and scrambled to his feet, only to be met again by a body part of the giant, this time a boot the size of a garbage can lid smashed into his chest, cracking a few ribs.

“What, the hell, do you think you’re doing!” The giant roared, apparently unaware that Frank was not alone in the building. Frank shrugged, hoping to possibly escape this with a bluff that he had entered the building looking for someone to help him out. The giant wouldn’t give him a chance to speak though, and hoisted Frank onto his feet only to wind up to knock him to the floor again. Frank dropped to his knees prematurely and swung his arm upwards into the giant’s groin, thanking the Force when he heard the giant grunt and stagger sideways. Going on the offensive, Frank leapt onto the giant’s back and rammed his thumbs into the eyes of the man.

Howling in pain, the giant reached up with his gigantic hands and began to pry Frank’s fists away from his eyes. Frank kept the pressure on as long as he could, managing at one point to slip his wrist out of the giant’s grasp and ram an index finger back into the eye. He brought both hands back around towards him when the giant let go of his other arm, and wrapped one hand in the thick hair while he pounded relentlessly on the back of the huge man’s head with the other. A quick glance at his fingers allowed him to realize how much damage he had done to the sight of the giant man, his fingers wear soaked in blood and another liquidy substance that Frank didn’t want to try and figure out at the moment.

The giant reached around and slammed Frank’s head into the back of his own, and Frank felt the familiar feeling of his nose breaking. When he didn’t stop his onslaught to the back of the man’s head, he found himself heading incredibly fast for one of the brick walls of the bank. A second later he had the wind knocked out of him as he was pinned between the wall and the gigantic man he was fighting with. If only I could reach my vibroblade. Frank thought to himself hopefully, stopping his attack and reaching towards his back pocket, hoping to find the short vibroblade he kept there.

He was swung wildly as the man spun around in an attempt to throw Frank off his back, but it didn’t work quiet as well as planned. The giant swung himself off balance and staggered backwards, attempting to regain it. Frank had by now reached the Vibroblade and was trying to open up the jack knife mechanism, a difficult feat with only one free hand. The giant teetered backwards and mistakenly shifted all his weight forwards, over compensating and collapsing forward onto the floor below. By now, Jason had heard the commotion going on and appeared around the corner to catch the end of the fight.

Frank had flipped the blade of the vibroblade out and could hear the hum of the blade as it vibrated with lightning quick pulsations. He released his grip on the giant’s hair and swung his arm underneath the giant’s neck, dragging the blade along his throat as he brought it back in a swift and sickening sounding motion. The giant rolled over and finally succeeded in throwing Frank off his back. He reached up with one hand and clutched at his throat, but to no avail. The blood was pouring out and all the giant could do was sit and make gurgling noises as his life drained from between his fingers. He stared in Frank’s direction with sightless eyes, before he collapsed backwards into a pool of his own blood.

Jason stared from the giant to Frank and back again before opening his mouth. “He doesn’t look like much of a cute blonde to me. I mean, I know you never promised me female, but I’d need to be really, really drunk to attempt hitting on something like that.” Jason laughed, nodding at the shaggy batch of hair. “I’m betting he’s a cross between some abnormally large human species, and an albino Wookie.”

OOC:

WC 912

Jason hadn’t been seeing things though. Another spy for Prince Xerom had been watching them from across the street. This time it was a tall human, shaved bald and sporting a spider tattoo on his pate. His leather jacket was what had made him stick out to Jason though, being white rather then a black or other dark colour that would have helped him blend into the sparse sidewalk traffic. No one seemed to deem anything to be going wrong in the bank anyways, as none of the alarms had gone off and from what they could see there was no sign of a struggle.

The man in the white jacket had caught the entire struggle from the bushes outside the bank, looking in through an office window. He had watched the taller man wrestle with the giant, finally subduing him and blasting the door off the vault. He had to admire their teamwork though, and their quick work. It was no wonder they hadn’t been caught yet; they left no clues as to who they were aside from various facial imprints on the security footage. Even then, they seemed to fit in remarkably well in Garalory, and no one had seemed to be able to pick them out of the crowds.

If only things were that easy for me, whenever I’m around. The spider man thought to himself as he stepped out of the bushes when the coast was clear and strode across the street to the opposing sidewalk. It took him only a moment to find a vantage point where he could still see into the bank and be able to look as if he was just someone standing outside enjoying a smoke. He brought a hand rolled cigar from Ytrap to his lips and lit the end, breathing the smoke out heavily after savoring its rich flavor.

He almost didn’t see it, but one of the two robbers spotted him as he brought a full bag around to the front side of the bank. The two locked eyes for a moment before the spider man flicked his cigar out of nervousness and stepped into the back alley, walking away without looking behind him. He hoped that he didn’t look too suspicious, but when he thought of his behavior he felt he would have been nothing but. Damn it! I know that Xerom won’t stand for this. If they get away because of my failure, I’ll be as good as dead. He thought to himself, reminding himself of what Xerom’s crime syndicate, The Fallen, was capable of under his orders.

OOC:

WC 436

*** 4 ***

First Lieutenant Trevor Evenson was relaxing on the balcony of a small cottage he had rented in the hills of a small village in the middle of the forests of Ynos. His girlfriend, Tokijin, was leaning against him, almost asleep. Despite the fact that it was only 8:30 in the evening where he was on the planet, Tokijin had almost fallen asleep as the warm rays of the sunset cast their pink-orange glow across the couple. Trevor had his arm wrapped around her and was close to falling asleep himself, kept awake only by the twittering of birds in the treetops nearby.

He was considering how he could move without waking Tokijin up so he could go get himself a drink when his data pad beeping nearby interrupted his planning. Tokijin shifted her head and looked up at him, almost as if she didn’t want him to answer the call and would have preferred just to relax. He smiled and picked up the data pad anyway, looking down at her.

“It could be Shazam or something, I can’t ignore it. I’ll make it quick though, don’t worry.” He said and she nodded but stuck her bottom lip out and pouted nonetheless. He laughed and gave her a kiss on the cheek as he stood up from the comfortable outdoor bench and walked into the cabin. Tokijin relaxed against the bench and listened through the open door to some of what Trevor was saying.

“Hello?” He asked, looking down at a face that seemed vaguely familiar but he wasn’t quite able to place. He racked his memory for who it was, but the answer came as soon as he heard the voice.

“Hey, my friend. I know it’s been a long time, but I need to call in a favor.” The man said, and Trevor instantly recognized whom it was he was talking to.

“Frankie? Is that you?” Trevor asked, receiving a nod from Frank.

“Yeah, Trev. You bet it’s me.” Frank answered, a smile spreading across his face. Trevor sat down in a chair and shook his head, then stared back at the screen on the data pad.

“I haven’t heard from you in forever, and you come to me for a favor out of no where? What’s the deal, buddy?” Trevor asked, his temper rising slightly. Tokijin was leaning a little closer to the door to hear better, but Trevor didn’t notice. He was paying too much attention to what Frank had to tell him.

“I wouldn’t have went looking for you if it wasn’t important. I’ve got some trouble, see.. With Xerom. He wants the five million I stole from him years ago, and you’re the only person I know who can help me out.” Frank said, and Trevor recognized the sincerity in his voice.

“I can’t help you Frank. I can’t pull five million credits out of nowhere and just hand them over to you to pay back some crime boss. You know that!” Trevor exclaimed, waving his free arm in the air and letting his frustration show on his face.

“No, no, no. That’s not what I need from you. I’ve got the five million.”

“Then what do you need me to do?” Trevor asked, his frustration turning to confusion.

“I need your computer skill. I remember how we robbed that bank a few years ago. I need you to help me do that, in a different way. I want to be able to transfer five million from Xerom’s account to my own. You just have to show up, do your thing on the computer, and you can leave. I’ll handle everything else.” Frank explained, and Trevor actually stopped for a moment to consider the offer. He knew perfectly well that Xerom was one of the most powerful criminal lords in the surrounding systems, but knew at the same time that he did owe Frank a favor. Frank had saved his life on Nar Shaddaa during a gang war that Trevor hadn’t even been involved in and Trevor hadn’t paid him back yet.

“If I do this for you, we’re even. No more calling in favors from time to time. We’re clean and that’s the end of it, right?” Trevor asked, glaring down at the screen. Frank swallowed hard and nodded, a smile crossing his face.

“You’ll have paid me back for that time I saved your ass. It’s all good. The only problem is that you need to be here tomorrow morning so we can get everything set up. Can you do that?” Frank asked, looking hopeful.

“Where are you anyways?” Trevor replied, realizing that if he was supposed to be there tomorrow and was too far away, odds are he wouldn’t make it.

“I’m in Garalory on the planet Y-“ He started, but Trevor cut him off.

“Ynos. I know it. I’m there now. Couple hours out of Garalory, but I could be there by morning if I got in the speeder right away and headed out. You’re one lucky bastard, Frank. I’ll bring some banker clothes with me and see you for breakfast tomorrow morning. I want you to know though, if this screws up, I’ll kill you myself before Xerom has me killed.” Trevor joked. He knew that Frank knew he was serious and joking at the same time, and knew that there was a chance he’d get caught up in this. His plan was to do what Frank wanted him to do and get out.

“Thanks man, I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t be late, your breakfast will be cold.” Frank said with a grin and ended the transmission. Trevor sighed and tossed the data pad onto the table, resting his head on his hand. Tokijin stood up from the bench and walked over to him, pulling a chair up beside him and looking at his eyes. He didn’t look into hers for a moment or two, but when he did she smiled and he couldn’t resist the chain reaction.

“What do you want?” He asked jokingly, and she prodded his arm a few times before answering.

“Who was that? The conversation didn’t seem to go very well.” She replied, picking up the hand that his head wasn’t being rested on and beginning to play with his fingers, opening and closing them with her own hands. He thought about his answer and for a moment he considered telling a lie to keep her worries down, but figured she’d be better off to know the truth. That and he hated to lie to her.

“It was an old friend, Frank Statorri. He’s a career criminal, and someone I used to work with before I straightened out. He wants me to help him pull off a five million credit scam, and I can’t say no since I owe him my life.” He explained and watched Tokijin’s expression for any signs of anger. For a moment he thought he caught one, but it quickly turned to some sort of adventurous amusement.

“Really? Can I come along?” She asked, holding his hand tightly in her own and giving him a look that he knew he’d have trouble telling her no. He shook his head and looked back up at her.

“I think it’d be best if you stayed behind, but if you really want to come, I won’t stop you. I’m going to warn you now though, he’s stealing this money from a criminal boss who’s one of the worst in this system and the few surrounding ones. He runs a gang known as The Fallen and he’s not the type you mess around with. Frankie said we could be in and out before any trouble started, but to be honest I’m not sure if that’s totally true. Are you sure it’s something you want to do?”

“Are you kidding? I’m a Nazgul pilot. I laugh in the face of danger. Well, I snicker quietly when Danger’s back is turned, anyways. I’d like to laugh in its face though.” She joked, and Trevor knew he wouldn’t be able to convince her not to go. He smiled inwardly and sat up straight to give her a kiss.

“We’ll need to pack then. I’d suggest something that’ll make you look like a banker’s assistant. A long skirt and a semi-fancy top, and you’ll have to make your hair look all business-y.” Trevor said, pointing at her hair, which was currently let down and all out of place. He felt she looked good no matter how she wore it, but knew that if Xerom showed up while they were there, they were going to have to look legit. “And for me, I’ll need a pair of nice dress pants as well as a dress jacket and a fancy shirt. Oh, and we leave tonight.” Trevor grinned, standing up with Toks. She nodded and turned towards the bedroom to go begin packing the clothes for both of them that Trevor mentioned, while he sat back down at the table and ran his hands through his hair, preparing for the fiasco ahead.

The couple climbed into the speeder Trevor had rented a little while later, tossing their bags into the trunk. It was a sporty model, one that Trevor had longed to drive ever since the model was introduced. Fast, incredible handling and a very comfortable interior suited to two, Trevor thought it’d be just the thing to rent when they landed. He hit the ignition switches and powered up the fancy little craft, allowing himself to sink into some fancy, exotically covered seat made of some material he didn’t recognize.

“Where are we going, anyways?” Tokijin asked as she buckled herself in and Trevor lifted off, gliding over the treetops as fast as he could push the speeder. He swerved to avoid a large tree that had grown taller then the rest that he hadn’t been able to see until it got into range of the headlights before he answered.

“Garalory. It’s one of the cities here, probably one of the most crime-free ones. Until Frankie showed up.” Trevor explained, allowing his thought’s to continue out loud. Toki looked at him a little bit confused and he decided he might as well fill her in all the way. “See, Frank never went for the small stuff. Hitting a corner store and hiding for a month wasn’t his style. He’d always go big; armored vans, banks, casinos, if it brought in big money he’d be working on a plan to rob it. The scary part was he was incredibly good at it. I can’t remember a time when his planning was the reason for something going wrong, it was always the stuff that was so tiny, so absolutely minor that he overlooked. He never checked to make sure that someone’s shift at a casino might change, or a part of his team would fall through and mess up for him.”

“I guess he didn’t get away with too much, hey?” Tokijin asked, peeking out her window at the trees below. Trevor shrugged and adjusted their course

“You’d be surprised. The last time I heard from him he had just pulled off a twenty five million credit job.” Trevor paused for a moment to laugh at the look of shock on Toki’s face. “You’d be even more surprised to find out that he only considered that to be an average job. He used to deal in stuff where he’d end up with a hundred million credits by the end of a job. The guy had everything figured out; he really knew what he was doing when it came to stealing from people. He’d take the money and run, then disperse it into a bunch of different bank accounts under different names and Ids, then let it sit where no one could find it.” Trevor continued.

“Well, why isn’t he living the big life then? If he’s got all that money, you don’t think he’d be worrying about a five million credit debt to some gangster.” Toki said, picking up Trevor’s data pad as it beeped.

“That’d be him, sending me the address of his apartment. We’ll need that once we get to the city. Anyways, he lost the majority of it to bad investments. You know, gambling, the spice trade, crooked deals with the various security agencies that were after him. He’d paid off more then one bounty hunter for double or triple the price on his head. A lot of bad luck, really. Not only that, he’d made enemies when he was doing his work.” Trevor stopped to take a breath and took a sip from a water bottle Toki had set in one of the cup holders for him. “He got robbed a few times himself, and right now he’s staying in a dingy apartment with his partner in crime and stealing to get by. He told me he had the five million to pay this guy back though.”

“But he wants you to help him turn that around and steal another five million from this Prince Xerox guy, right?” Tokijin asked, and Trevor dismissed the thought of correcting her on his name. He could tell she looked skeptical, even under the low light conditions of the speeder cockpit.

“Yeah. Not the smartest thing ever, but if I know Frank, he’s got it all planned out, damn near perfectly.”

OOC:

WC 2230

“This is the one?” Tokijin asked, looking up at a very dingy apartment building in the slums of Garalory. At first Trevor had thought they would be at least in a moderately safe neighborhood, but when they had started getting closer to Frank’s street Trevor found himself locking the doors of the speeder and hoping that the apartment building had an underground garage.

“Yeah, I think so. The address is right. Here, we’ll part on the street for now and make sure this is the right building. Then I’ll take you up there and come back out to move the speeder.” Trevor explained as he pulled alongside the curb and shut the speeder down, making sure the security systems would all be enabled once he got out. Toki smiled and stepped out of the car at the same time Trevor did so, and then waited for him to walk with her to the door. They stepped inside and were met by a panel covered with buttons, each with a number above it. Trevor ran his finger above each button until he found the one for apartment ninety-seven. Upon finding it he pressed it down and released it when he heard a buzz.

“Trevor, is that you?” A voice came from a small speaker box mounted above all the buttons, behind a thick steal cage. Trevor almost laughed at the security for a small wall-mounted speaker, but at the same time recognized that the voice wasn’t that of Frank.

“Depends who’s asking, I suppose. Is Frankie around?” Trevor asked, trying to figure out if he could place the voice or not. Tokijin wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation; she was keeping one eye on the car and was glaring at a few prostitutes who were walking on the opposing sidewalk.

“He’s sleeping right now, I told him to take a nap to calm the hell down. It’s Jason by the way; we’ve met a few times. I was there when you helped us out with the digital bank robbery a few years back.” Jason explained through the voice box, and Trevor’s mind finally clicked the voice to a face he recognized in his mind’s eye. A shorter man with blonde hair and gray eyes, built like a wrestler and mechanically inclined to no end.

“Gotcha, Jason. Do you think it’d be a little bit mean to play a prank on old Frankie?” Trevor asked, fairly seriously. A pause was his answer, followed by ‘nope.’

“Come on up. I’ll tell him that he’s got an infamous visitor who demands to meet with him right away. I bet he’ll shit his pants.” Jason laughed, and Trevor heard a buzz that meant the second door leading into the building had unlocked. Trevor held it open for Tokijin and followed her in, and the two began climbing the stairs towards apartment ninety-seven.

OOC:

WC 478

*** 5 ***

Frank woke up from a restless sleep and lay in bed for a few extra minutes, staring at his ceiling. When he had relaxed himself enough, he got up quietly, making sure not to disturb anyone else in the apartment. He gathered up some of his best clothes and put himself through the ‘fresher, dressing to look the part of a gambler who had struck it lucky in one of the casinos of the tourist city. He slipped on a pair of sunglasses and a sport jacket, then packed the five million into two briefcases. Weird how it took us thirty duffle bags to fit fifteen million or so, but only two briefcases for five. I guess when you pack it all nice and neat though, it’s different. He thought to himself as he let himself out of the apartment.

Trevor had lent him the fancy speeder to help him play the part better, and he grinned to himself as he roared out of the parking garage and ripped down the street towards the more uptown area of the city. He swerved in and out of traffic finally spotting one of the downtown banks that he had been planning to use. Parking the speeder next to the curb, he double-checked his hair and sunglasses in the rear view mirror before getting out of the car and taking his two briefcases with him. He looked up at the bank, almost doubting himself for a moment but shaking the thought off and stepping through the wide double glass doors.

The exterior of the building only hinted at the luxury of the inside. Being of polished white stone on the outside, the interior contrasted greatly with a polished black floor and white walls with light blue accents throughout the building. The employees were helping out various rich-looking clients, and Frank stood in line behind a taller man in a dark suit. A plump woman sitting behind one of the teller counters waved at him and called out ‘I can help you here.’

He made his way over and set both briefcases up on the counter, then removed his sunglasses and read her nametag. “Hello, Gwen. I’d like to make a fairly large deposit. Had a good night at a casino a few days back and don’t want to lose it all by someone breaking into my hotel room, you know?”

The lady behind the counter smiled and nodded. “We deal with stuff like that all the time. A week ago we had a man come in and deposit over eighteen million. How much are you looking to deposit?” She asked, and Frank held up an open hand, fingers spread.

“Five million, please. I’ve got it all counted out and put in the briefcases.” Frank explained, writing down his account number on a piece of paper and sliding it across the counter to the plump woman. She peered at it over a set of square cut glasses and nodded, beginning to type various things into her computer. She then stood up and grabbed both cases, as well as opening a small door for Frank to step through.

“If you’d please come this way, I’m just going to take the money around to a counter. Just a precautionary thing, incase you miscounted or something like that.” She explained, and Frank nodded. He’d been through the process before where the money was fed into a machine that counted it and returned it out the other end in neat stacks to be put in the vault. Gwen opened both briefcases and began setting stacks of credits onto the conveyor belt, and Frank watched as they disappeared into the machine. Once she had unloaded both briefcases they stood and waited, both sets of eye son the screen that was showing a running total of the amount of credits. When it came to a stop at exactly five million, Gwen reloaded the briefcases and lead Frank back around to her counter.

“I’m just going to need you to sign this and then I can complete the transfer.” She requested politely, sliding a digital signature reader across the counter with a stylus for Frank to use. He smiled and scribbled his signature onto the black pad and handed it back to her. She tapped a few keys on the keyboard and a receipt started to print. She tore it off and handed it to him, grinning.

“It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Frank.” She said, reading the name off of his account page and then picking the briefcases up once more and taking them around back. When she returned a minute later to return the briefcases, Frank was nowhere to be seen. He had left the building and was already halfway down the block, sliding his sunglasses back on his face and finding himself grinning from ear to ear despite not knowing why.

OOC:

WC 818

*** 6 ***

A hooded figure stepped out of the back door of a limousine that was parked in front of a dingy apartment building. His assistant and driver shut the door behind him and locked the vehicle, then dashed ahead of the hooded figure and opened the door for the building. One of the arms of the cloak the man was wearing raised to the level of the control panel and a long, slender, pale finger extended from it and pressed the button for apartment ninety-seven. There was no communication over the little speaker box, just the sound of the door buzzer going off to signify that it was unlocked. His driver once again held the door for him and followed him into the building. They took the lift, arriving at the correct floor in a matter of seconds. A woman with a small child was waiting at the doors and she jumped when the doors opened.

The hooded figure’s driver pushed the mother and child into the elevator and closed the doors for them, then the two of them walked wordlessly down the hallway until they reached a door marked by a brass number 97. The cloaked man once again unsheathed his pale hand and knocked on the door twice, then grinned to himself as he heard chairs scraping on a tile floor and the footsteps of someone coming to the door. He continued to grin when the door began to open and the familiar face of Frank Statorri appeared.

“Greetings, old friend.” Prince Xerom hissed, lowering his hood to reveal his bony, shaven skull that only added to his odd look. His nose was smushed into his face as if the person sculpting his face from birth set their elbow on it at some point. His deep-set eyes with their purple irises glared out at the world with a childlike search for something, a search for power. His thin lips were as pale as the rest of him, causing them to almost disappear and be indistinguishable from the rest of his face. “I trust you got my letter?”

“Yes, sir.” Frank nodded, grinning as best he could upon meeting such an ugly person. Needs a little sun, I think. He thought to himself as he swung the door wide to allow both the men into the room. Tokijin let out an audible gasp when she saw Xerom’s face but Trevor covered for her with a loud noise as he cleared his throat. Jason stood off to the side of the kitchen table, glaring at the two men who had entered but slapping a smile onto his face when Frank turned to introduce him. “This is my partner, Jason. Over on the couch is a man from the bank here to help us out with the transfer, George Olson. That is his lovely assistant, Dawne General.”

Trevor stood up and approached, Xerom, offering his hand out for it to be shaken. Xerom simply looked down at it with an expression of disgust on his face and nodded to his driver, who reached out and shook Trevor’s hand. Trevor dropped his arm to his side and gestured towards the laptop that was perched on the kitchen table, the banking program open. “If we could get down to business, gentlemen, I’d love to get things rolling. Prince Xerom, if you’d kindly enter your account number to where the funds are to be sent to..” Trevor continued, pointing at the laptop keyboard. Once again Xerom nodded to his driver and Trevor watched as the driver tapped a few keys on the keyboard. When he was finished he stepped back from the laptop and returned to Xerom’s side.

“Now how can I be sure that the money will be in my account when this transfer is finished, and not into some bogus account?” Xerom breathed, his voice coming out lightly, enough to send chills down Tokijin’s spine. Trevor shrugged.

“We’ll just allow you to check your account following the transfer to make sure everything is as it should be. Now, Mr. Statorri, if you could enter your information..” Trevor said, making sure not to address Frank as ‘Frank’. That’d completely ruin the act here.

Frank nodded and walked up to the computer, then began typing out all the information for his bank account. Xerom stepped closer and laid both his bony, thin hands on Frank’s shoulders, watching the screen with happiness in his eyes. Frank entered the amount to be transferred and hovered the cursor over the ‘send’ button, looking up to Trevor as if for guidance. Trevor nodded and Frank clicked the button, and then watched as a bar appeared on the screen that read ‘transferring’. A moment later a tone sounded and the bar disappeared, showing Frank’s account to be empty.

“It’s just that simple, friends.” Trevor said, offering the computer to Xerom’s driver once again so Xerom could check his account. Xerom pushed his driver aside though, and typed his own information in. When he had stared at the screen long enough and seemed to be satisfied, he closed the top of the laptop and twisted his face into a horrifying smile.

“See, Frank? That’s all it took for you and I to be on friendly terms again. The bounty hunters will be dealt with. I almost would have preferred to make a cash transfer, but I realize how suspicious it would look if I walked into a bank carrying five million in cash. People would be suspicious and call the police. This way is just so much more convenient.” Xerom mused, grinning at the group with his yellow teeth showing. They contrasted greatly to his almost translucent skin and made Trevor’s skin crawl.

“I assure you, I’m glad we chose to do it this way. I’ll be left alone now?” Frank asked, looking hopeful. Xerom nodded and was about to turn to leave when his driver answered a call that was coming in on his headset.

“Sir, you need to hear this. The bank just called to report that your entire count has been drained. That’s over three hundred million.” The driver explained, his calm demeanor from before evaporating into thin air. He seemed exceptionally nervous, and Frank realized why. Before he could do anything, Xerom had drawn a small knife from the pocket of his robes and slashed it across the man’s face, leaving a long gash and causing Tokijin to scream, more out of surprise then due to the sight of blood.

“Shut her up.” Xerom demanded, his airy voice from before being replaced by a deeper, rage filled one. He turned back to his driver, who was holding his hand to where he had been cut, trying to regain his composure. “Where did they say it went!” He howled, and the drier recoiled.

“They said it was transferred to a local account, one of Frank Statorri. He backstabbed you, my lord.” The driver said, cowering away from the wrath of his employer. Xerom spun on his heel, his cloak waving out behind him like a fan. He started towards Frank, pulling a larger knife out of the folds of his robe. He didn’t get far though; in one swift motion Trevor drew his blaster pistol and brought it level with Xerom’s head.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Trevor asked as Xerom slowly turned around to see Trevor standing within feet, pointing a gun directly between his eyes. Looking to his driver for a little support, Xerom found him to be being held back by Tokijin, who had cracked him over the head with the closed laptop and pushed him to the floor. He had the leg of a chair on each hand and she was sitting calmly on it, ignoring his groans of pain.

“You did this, then. The banker! He exclaimed, eyes filled with rage staring down the barrel of the pistol. Trevor shrugged and tugged at the doorknob, opening it and ushering Frank and Jason out. They leapt at the chance, Jason slapping the back of Xerom’s head as he walked by. Trevor chuckled, then motioned for Tokijin to leave too. She tucked the laptop under her arm and dashed off down the stairs, leaving Trevor alone in the room. The driver still had not stood up, but was rubbing his crushed hands and swearing about someone named Dawne.

“Yeah, I have to admit I had a hand in it. Anyhow, I’ll see you at the bottom of the stairs. Good luck with the tanning.” Trevor laughed, stepping out the door and slamming it shut behind him. He sprinted down the hallway and heard a crash come from behind him but ignored it. He jumped down two flights of stairs and almost ran into Tokijin. When he reached her he urged her to go faster and directed her down the stairs into the parking garage.

OOC:

WC 1489

“This is insane.” Tokijin said, clutching the laptop to her chest as Trevor steered their vehicle and led Jason and Frank through the traffic of a Garalorian rush hour. They hadn’t detected the vehicle creeping up behind them yet and thus weren’t driving breakneck speeds. Trevor nodded in agreement to Toks, but couldn’t help but feel excited.

“Insane, exhilarating, it’s all the same. Point is we’re not dead yet and Frank is three hundred million richer.” Trevor laughed, blowing through a red light and almost being t-boned by another driver. Frank followed through on his bumper and seemed to be waving a comm. unit around, trying to get Trevor’s attention. “Shit, find the comm. and turn it on to channel four eighteen. It’s the one Frank always uses.” Trevor told Tokijin, who set the laptop on the floor and started rummaging around trying to find the comm. unit. Finally she reached into Trevor’s blazer pocket and pulled it out, adjusting the channel and holding it to her lips.

“Toki here, what do you guys want?” She asked, looking out the back window at Frank and Jason. Frank was concentrating on the road while Jason was watching behind them and talking in the comm. at the same time.

“We’ve got some big trouble here..Shit..They’re after us in a big black limo, and they have guns. This guy really wants his money back, Trevor. Why’d you take it all?” Jason asked, his voice sounding strained. Trevor could hear the sound of blaster shots impacting the body of the car in the background and winced. He had decided to take all the money from Xerom’s account in an attempt to cripple the criminal’s personal account, and it seemed to have worked. He wasn’t going to take a share of the money, he knew that much, but he figured it’d cover everything Frankie had lost over the years.

“I figured you guys could use the pocket change.” Trevor explained as Tokijin held the device to his mouth so he didn’t have to take his hands off the controls. With that comment and the idea that they were being chased in mind, Trevor pushed the throttles forwards and cranked the car through a tight right-hand turn, narrowly missing a shuttle bus that had been parked on the curb unloading passengers. “Kick your speed up a bit, we’re going to have to outrun them since we can’t outgun them.” Trevor said, weaving between other speeders at a speed almost double his prior one.

“You might not be able to outgun them, but I bet you half a million credits that me and Frankie here have the firepower to scare them good.” Jason laughed, and Trevor could hear Frank say something about being willing to bet twice that. Trevor shrugged and was going to reply but Tokijin beat him to it.

“Deal, you’re on. If they don’t back off after your little display of power, we get a million. Each.” She said, looking up at Trevor and grinning. Trevor couldn’t help but let himself grin as he dodged another series of busses. She’s definitely not scared or anything. I’m pretty sure she’s enjoying herself. He thought, and the gleam in Tokijin’s eyes told him he was right.

“You’ve been away from flying for far too long, haven’t you?” He asked, and she leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. He smiled and she smiled back at him, and then answered his question.

“You bet I have. I loved to have adventures like this. This kind of craziness. It’s just..I don’t know how to describe it, but I’m sure you know what I mean, right?” She asked, and Trevor nodded. “I haven’t had this fun like this in a while.” She grinned and gave Trevor another kiss on the cheek. He increased the throttle when he saw a red tracer from a blaster rifle fly past their speeder. Glancing out the back window he spotted the limo swerving back and forth through the traffic, keeping right on Frank’s rear bumper.

“I think they caught up.” Tokijin said, also peering at the back window. Trevor shrugged and increased the throttle more, until he reached the point where he thought Frank’s speeder would no longer be able to keep up. Just as he was about to hand Tokijin his blaster and tell her to knocked out the back window and start shooting, Jason’s voice broke the comm. silence.

“Oh! Shit!”

WC 748

“Oh.” Xerom muttered to himself as he ducked back into the limo, trying to reload another rocket. So far they’d damaged their own car and another, and destroyed another completely when a rocket fired in the wrong direction. Now the tide had changed slightly as the man Xerom recognized as Jason began to shoot back at them, his blaster rifle leaving holes in the hood of the speeder but simply deflecting off the windshield. Xerom had finally re-loaded and was considering sticking his head out of the sunroof again, but decided otherwise.

He picked up a repeater rifle and hoisted it onto the roof of the limo, then stood up and tried to aim it as if it were a turret. He got off a few shots before his driver threw them into a hard right hand turn and the cannon pulled itself to the left, wrenching itself loose of Xerom’s grip. “Damn it!” He shouted, tempted to kick the driver but knowing that if he did so they could lose control. He slipped back into the cabin of the limo and thought of what move to use next.

**

“He had a rocket launcher, that’s all.” Jason’s voice told Tokijin over the comm. She was impressed at how he didn’t seem to be nervous about the idea at all, although Trevor wasn’t. He was only hearing parts of the conversation and he weaved through the traffic and tried to keep them on a random course, not only to try and throw off Xerom but also any police who may have been called by this point of time in the chase.

“A rocket launcher?” Trevor asked, that part sort of catching his attention. Toki nodded and mentioned how she saw a car explode, causing Trevor to realize just how big the danger was. He checked his speed and looked back at Frank’s car, spotting Jason leaning out the back window with some sort of rifle braced against his shoulder. He could see the black limo weaving back and forth trying to dodge Jason’s shots as they sped along a road that had less traffic then the others. “Tell him I want them to move over to the right and be prepared to see me shoot by him. I want you to tell him that, then brace yourself for an impact.” Trevor told Tokijin, mentally preparing himself for the next move.

As soon as Tokijin told Frank the plan, Trevor heard something along the lines of ‘That crazy jackass.’ Come across the comm. He couldn’t help but grin as he saw Frank move over in the rear view mirror. Tokijin was tightening her safety belts and looked up at Trevor, seeming to be ready for what he was going to do. With no warning, he cut the throttle and swung his car to the right, timing everything nearly perfectly. He grazed rank’s back bumper and saw the speeder turn sideways but straighten out a second later. Trevor had no time to think about what could have happened if he had hit Frank any harder as the limo plowed into the back of his sports speeder.

Trevor and Tokijin were thrown forward in their seats, caught only by the thin strips of fabric that were the seatbelts. Trevor didn’t take long to recover, once again pushing the throttle to the floor and grinning as the wounded speeder lurched forward. It wasn’t going to go as fast or handle nearly as good, but it’d still be a decent getaway vehicle. He looked over at Tokijin, who was holding a hand to her forehead.

“Are you alright?” He asked, suddenly feeling worried that he had caused her some sort of serious injury. She nodded her head and removed her hand, revealing a slight bump on her forehead. Trevor put his arm around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, then concentrated once again on driving. The limo was still behind him and powering forward, but he could see no sign of Xerom anywhere. At that point he realized he could no longer see Frank either, and felt nervous but thankful. If Frank was lost in the crowd, Xerom probably wouldn’t find him either.

A light tap from behind told Trevor that the limo was gaining on them and not planning to play nicely, so he did the best he could with his limited speed to avoid the long black speeder. He swerved between two speeders that were driving one behind the other with just enough room between them to allow the now crumpled speeder through. The limo cleared them on the other side and Trevor looked across in time to see Xerom raise the rocket launcher to his shoulder and aim it out the window. In a desperate attempt to avoid the deadly ordinance, Trevor once again cut the throttle and applied the air brakes hard, slowly the speeder dramatically.

Tokijin put a hand to her mouth and pointed, but Trevor had seen it in time. Frank’s speeder careened out of an alleyway and nailed the limo hard in the side, bending the elongated vehicle before slamming it into the side of a building. Xerom’s rocket was fired vertically and detonated harmlessly a few hundred meters above everything. Xerom himself was thrown from the vehicle as it impacted the wall, and the driver could be seen moving around in the front seat. Frank and Jason were both clawing at airbags that had gone off, and Frank was attempting to back the speeder up to no avail. The two speeders were locked together in a death grip of twisted and bent metal. When Frank realized this he kicked his door open and helped Jason out.

Trevor pushed his speeder along slowly and came to a complete stop near the wreckage. He couldn’t hear the wail of sirens yet and took that as a sign from above that he would be able to get out of the speeder and help Jason and Frank out. He spotted Xerom’s limp body a little ways away, crumpled and bleeding. Tokijin took one look and looked away immediately, sticking her tongue out at Trevor in a fairly disgusted way. Trevor nodded and drew his blaster, just incase the driver attempted anything crazy. Frank was leaning against his speeder, breathing hard. As they approached he looked up and grinned, slamming a fist down on the wreckage of his speeder.

“She was a good beast while she lasted, but I’m pretty sure her number is up. What do you say we get out of here?” Frank said, nodding at Jason who was bleeding from the lip and forehead but other then that seemed fine. Trevor nodded and motioned to his speeder. It wasn’t going to be a comfortable ride, but it’d get them to where they needed to go. As he turned away from Frank and started back towards the speeder with Tokijin and Jason, he heard a groan and then a thump of a body hitting concrete. Trevor spun quickly and had his weapon pointed at the driver before he could do anything to hide himself. Frank was lying on the ground, breathing but unmoving.

“What’d you do to him?” Trevor asked, inching closer incase the driver was armed with a weapon of his own. The driver shrugged and tossed a pair of brass knuckles onto the hood of Frank’s destroyed car. Now Trevor could hear sirens, and knew that leaving would be a good idea. A crowd was beginning to gather which meant he couldn’t pull the trigger without there being consequences, but it didn’t matter. The driver dashed off before Trevor could do anything, and the two pilots and Jason quickly lifted Frank’s limp body and carried him towards Trevor’s damaged speeder.

“He’ll be alright, he’s suffered worse hits then that before.” Jason grinned as they hoisted Frank behind the seats into a small area in the back of the vehicle for cargo that wouldn’t fit in the trunk. It was a bit cramped but they managed to fit him in such a way that it wouldn’t hurt him anymore then he already was. Frank took Tokijin’s former seat while she converted the center console into a seat, apparently a function designed by the original manufacturers of the speeder. “Shall we go?” Jason asked, motioning towards the alley that he and Frank had shot out of moments ago.

Trevor nodded and steered the limping speeder down the alley and out of sight of the growing crowd. No one in the vehicle had noticed though, that Xerom’s limp form had been lifted onto the shoulders of his driver and the two had slipped into the opposing back alley, escaping the ambulance and security vehicles that showed up moments later.

Once the speeder had gotten a fair distance from the crash site and the sirens could no longer be heard, Trevor headed for the city limits, back in the direction of the cottage he had rented for himself and Tokijin.

“Wait, we’re not going back to the apartment? We’ve still got a bunch of our things there.” Jason objected, looking back in the direction they had come from. Trevor shrugged and waved an arm around the cramped speeder.

“Does it look like we’re in a moving van to you? You’ll have to come back and collect your stuff some other time. I bet you Xerom’s men would probably be waiting for you once they got news that you killed their boss.” Trevor reminded him, and it made enough sense to Jason that he closed his mouth and relaxed a little bit. Tokijin on the other hand seemed to be fairly energetic after her brush with death, although Trevor felt it might have only been because they never got shot at.

“I liked the thing you guys did with the speeder!” She said, excitement resonating in her voice. Trevor grinned as he looked at her, then turned his attention back to the landscape in front of him and raised the speeder until it was gliding over top of the trees once again. Jason shrugged and nodded to Frank

“I’m pretty sure he’d reconsider the move now, but you never know with a crazy bastard like that. So Trev, why’d you take all the money out of his account rather than just the ten mill as planned?” Jason asked, pointing at the laptop that was still resting on the floorboards. It was Trevor’s turn to shrug, taking both hands off the controls and allowing the speeder to glide in a straight line for a while.

“Well, I figured that either way, we were going to get chased after anyways. We might as well come out of it with a ton more cash then we planned, and I figure that this way you and Frank can pay off any debts you owe to get some of the bounties off your heads.” Trevor said with a grin, reaching across behind Tokijin and punching Jason in the arm.

“Well how much are we going to have to share with you?” Jason asked, figuring there was some sort of catch to the deal. Trevor and Tokijin exchanged glances and Trevor remained silent for a minute, hoping that him and Toki had communicated well enough through just a glance.

“Well, none, actually. We’re doing this to give some old friends a hand, not for the money. It was definitely a thrill though. We’ll let you keep the cottage till the heat dies down a little bit. It’s rented under my name and since Xerom didn’t know who I really was, he can’t really trace you guys.” Trevor explained, grinning. Jason looked sort of shocked but didn’t object, sitting back in his seat and remaining quiet for a few moments while Tokijin attempted to tune in a radio station, looking for what she described as ‘victory music’. Finding something fast paced, she sat back in her seat and put an arm around Trevor’s shoulders, leaning against him for most of the ride home.

OOC:

WC 2005

Frank woke up with a throbbing headache as the sun cast it’s red-orange rays into the room he was sleeping in. He shut his eyes tighter before giving in to the sun’s abuse. He went to throw the blankets off himself before he realized he was lying on top of the blankets rather then beneath them. Opening an eye, he realized he wasn’t even in his apartment, rather a room he didn’t recognize one bit. He could hear the voices of Trevor, Tokijin and Jason chatting in the rooms outside of his though, so knew he was still with safe company.

He reached around and felt the back of his head, rubbing his fingers through his curly hair and feeling the series of bumps that had been left behind from whatever hit him. He sighed and tried to sit up, but the feeling in his head only worsened. Lying back down again, he allowed himself a few more minutes of rest before forcing himself out of the bed and setting his feet down on the cool floor. He walked and almost stumbled, shaking his head to rid it of cobwebs and dizziness.

He lurched across to the door and turned the handle, leaning against the door to open it. It didn’t take him very long to be noticed by anyone, and pretty soon he had the whole group standing around him. Jason was over and supporting him from one side, Trevor on the other. They lead him over to the couch and sat him down, where he sunk into the soft cushions and relaxed a little bit. He smiled and looked around.

“Nice place, Trev. Where’d you find it?” He asked, staring at the high ceilings and beautiful walls of the cabin. Trevor shrugged and glanced at Tokijin, who was checking the back of Frank’s skull, making sure it had stopped bleeding and wasn’t looking too dangerous.

“Some brochure, actually. Was kinda expensive, but it’s worth it. I’m going to actually be leaving soon, but I figured you guys could hang out here for a few days till the heat dies down.” Trevor explained, sitting down on one of the other couches. When Tokijin was finished checking Frank’s head she walked over and sat down close to Trevor, throwing her arms around him and leaning against him.

“What happened anyways?” Frank asked, rubbing the back of his head.

“Well, you did a kick ass job running into Xerom’s limo, then his body guard decided to punch you out.” Jason said with a grin, slapping Frankie on the shoulder and then moving away quickly to avoid a counter-punch. Frank sighed and let himself sink into the cushions even more.

“How about some breakfast? I’m starved.” He finally said, looking up at Tokijin as if expecting her to go make him something. She faked a look of insult and walked to the kitchen, grabbing something and returning to Frank. It was a plate of eggs and other breakfast foods that were left over from the breakfast the group had had earlier. He nodded his thanks and dug in with the fork she had brought him, thoroughly enjoying his food. “So what else has happened?”

“Well,” Trevor began, picking up the laptop. “This morning I went through and distributed your three hundred million to your various accounts, although I gave Jason his share and put it where he wanted it to go. You’re rich once again, friend.” Trevor smiled, handing the laptop across to Frank and wrapping an arm around Toki’s shoulders.

Frank smiled and tucked the laptop into the couch next to him, then turned back to his meal. Jason had remained wordless through most of the time, and reached for the remote to the holo vision. He flicked it on and found a news program out of habit, surprised to see that he caught one on the wreckage of their accident the day before. A pretty Twi’lek was standing in front of the wreckage, reporting on what had happened.

“..Eye witnesses say that they saw the four door speeder careen out of the alleyway over there and plow into the limousine that appeared to chasing someone. Reports also indicate that a rocket-type weapon had been fired into the air, and that one of the riders in the limousine was thrown from the vehicle and landed in the street. The drive of this vehicle then physically assaulted the driver of the other speeder and left when a tall, blonde man pointed a blaster at him. None of the suspects in the collision have been found, and people have told our news crew that they saw the driver of the limo carrying off the body of a pale man who had been thrown from the vehicle. No one has been confirmed dead.” She ended, the entire shot ending with a pan view of the accident. Things looked far worse the day after, the limo having been bent in the alley between two buildings.

Jason laughed and elbowed Frank, who had set down his fork and stopped eating. “Looks like your old speeder got trashed. At least you’ll be able to afford a new one now.” Jason continued, ignoring the look of horror on Frank’s face. In fact, no one in the room seemed to notice it, all of them having their eyes glued to the screen. Finally Frank snatched the remote from Jason and shut off the holo vision, then stood on shaky legs and turned to face the people around him.

“Did anyone check to see if Xerom was dead? Hell, did anyone go over and shoot him in the head just to make sure?” Frank asked, his voice beginning to sound stressed and angry. Trevor looked at Tokijin and shrugged, Jason doing the same thing.

“He had flown pretty far, I figured it would have been enough to kill any human. The guy isn’t going to be coming back Frank, you don’t have to worry about that part.” Jason said, trying to calm Frank down a little bit. Trevor looked at him a little bit nervously, but Frank didn’t calm down at all.

“Don’t you see though? Xerom wasn’t a human. He’s a humanoid, yes, but not human. He’s been genetically altered from his original state, and his original state is a very close look alike to a human, but I can’t remember the actual species. Either way, he isn’t dead unless someone confirms him to be dead.” Frank said, waving his arms around and almost unsteadying himself.

“What do you mean?” Tokijin asked, a feeling of disbelief filling her. She held on to Trevor a little bit tighter without really thinking about it, but Trevor didn’t notice. He was too busy putting the facts together. The rest of the group had been doing the same thing, but none of them seemed to want to say it. Finally Frank broke the silence, talking very quietly as if he were trying to make his words seem more ominous.

“What I mean,” Frank began. “Is that we’re not safe from Xerom yet. He’ll still be coming for us, and you can be it will be soon..”

OOC:

WC 1193